Closing UNRWA will not alter Israel’s role in creating Palestine refugees

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has recently had its mandate extended until 30 June 2020 “in the absence of a solution to the Palestine refugee problem”. Meanwhile Israel and the US are consorting to eliminate the existence of Palestinian refugees by redefining them to reduce the numbers and thus render UNRWA redundant.

Withholding funds from the agency prompted outgoing Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat to communicate a detailed plan which would expel UNRWA from occupied East Jerusalem and its services to Palestinian refugees ostensibly catered for by the Jerusalem Municipality.

According to Barkat, “The residents of Jerusalem cannot be turned into Palestinian refugees in order to serve a dangerous strategy for the destruction of Israel.” The mayor’s strategy stipulates that........